Dog possibly pregnant

guideanna

Hi All,

My dog in heat 2 weeks ago escaped out of the garden and was M.I.A for about half an hour before we found her again.
I've convinced myself she's pregnant now tho i know it's probably too early to tell.
Brought her to the vet this morning and he said they can give her an injection at this stage and one again tomorrow that will "get rid" of any possible pregnancy. The can't tell for sure until 30 days.
I feel terrible but we don't want anymore dogs and i would feel worse leaving them into the dog shelter so it's easier for everyone this way. Would also worry about my own dog having to give birth so there's just no way i'd risk it.

Anyway my question is do you know how these injections will effect my dog? Will she be ok or out of sorts for the few days? Feel really awful and we will be looking at having her spayed in the future especially now we've found ourselves in this situation.

Whispered

Hey OP. It's a difficult decision but the right one I think. Well done for putting your dogs welfare and that of any potentional pups before your own misgivings.

I can't say how it will effect your dog as I've never been in your position, (never owned a bitch) but I know that neutering does not have a big effect on them and when a bitch owned by a friend lost her pups it did not effect her either. So I'd imagine would have very little effect. You'd be as well to check with your vet though.

(effect :pac:)

ISDW

I've had a bitch come into me that was in heat and that we thought had been got at by a dog, so she had the injections and was absolutely fine. Definitely worth it for peace of mind, and not having her go through the whole whelping process. You don't know what dog could have got to her, if it was much bigger than her, she could have terrible trouble whelping naturally, so definitely the safest thing for her.

Only thing to bear in mind is that a kennel client of mine had a bitch that escaped and then had the injections, unfortunately somehow one pup survived in the womb, and was born naturally. So the injections aren't totally infallible.

Good luck.

Rabbitandcavy

It isn't too late to get her spayed, I know a lot of people just get the injections so that they can stop a pregnancy but then be able to breed her again. Since you don't want to breed from her then getting her spayed now would probably be the best option. It is very difficult to keep hold of a female in heat and it is awful cause you can't even bring them for a walk and you have males lining up outside your door. So you will probably find yourself back in this situation again eventually.

lrushe

If you explain what happened to your vet they will spay her for you even if she is pregnant. I'm not sure how effective the injection will be after 2 week, as mentioned it might not be effective on all of the pups, the longer time goes on the less effective the injection would be. If you want to get her spayed anyway I would just make the appointment now but just give your vet the heads up that your dog escaped and my have been mated. I've seen a bitch being spayed right up to the 7th week of pregnancy so 2 weeks should be ok.
Sorry just to add your dog shouldn't be too out of sorts after the injection, it effectively just brings her back into heat so you will need to keep any eye on her again for the next 3 - 4 weeks afterwards.

guideanna

Thanks all.
I'm going to bring her for the injection. Dont want to wait any longer coz feel worse then getting her to have an operation. She had to have a small operation when she was a puppy and as a result she has a terrible fear of vets. I hate even bringing her for her jabs.
We've never had a problem with her in heat before we just keep her on the lead and only let her in loose in the garden but this time she managed to escape (the exit has obviously now been well blocked). We always keep a close eye on her and the most she was gone for was half an hour and we just found her wandering around up the road a bit so i'm not even sure a dog got to her but i just had a feeling you know!
Thats mad how one dog survived. I'll have to keep a close eye on her to make sure she's not showing pregnancy symptoms after this. TBH we could manage 1 puppy but there's just no way we could have 3 or 4 dogs in the house. I keep imaging a litter of 11 puppies (she was a litter of 11) and me loosing my mind trying to look after them.
Even had a dream last night that dogs were braking into the garden and trying to get into the house to her. I'm distraught!

Wisco

. I'm not sure how effective the injection will be after 2 week, as mentioned it might not be effective on all of the pups, the longer time goes on the less effective the injection would be.
Sorry just to add your dog shouldn't be too out of sorts after the injection, it effectively just brings her back into heat so you will need to keep any eye on her again for the next 3 - 4 weeks afterwards.[/QUOTE]


Sorry, but this information isn't exactly right, as I think the above post refers to a different drug. There is one that's used about 36-72hrs post mating and sometimes repeated which essentially prevents conception, even if the dog has been mated. The drug your vet is talking about is probably the one that works up to day 45 of pregnancy and will abort any pups she's carrying. It is an expensive drug, however, so you may find that spaying her would be cheaper in the long run, while accomplishing the same goal: no pups.
Spaying while pregnant or in heat does carry a higher risk, but most vets, especially small animal practices, have well equipped theatres and nurses who are very experienced in monitoring pets while they are being operated on.
Good luck- hope you get sorted!

lrushe

Wisco wrote: »

. I'm not sure how effective the injection will be after 2 week, as mentioned it might not be effective on all of the pups, the longer time goes on the less effective the injection would be.
Sorry just to add your dog shouldn't be too out of sorts after the injection, it effectively just brings her back into heat so you will need to keep any eye on her again for the next 3 - 4 weeks afterwards.

Sorry, but this information isn't exactly right, as I think the above post refers to a different drug. There is one that's used about 36-72hrs post mating and sometimes repeated which essentially prevents conception, even if the dog has been mated. The drug your vet is talking about is probably the one that works up to day 45 of pregnancy and will abort any pups she's carrying. It is an expensive drug, however, so you may find that spaying her would be cheaper in the long run, while accomplishing the same goal: no pups.
Spaying while pregnant or in heat does carry a higher risk, but most vets, especially small animal practices, have well equipped theatres and nurses who are very experienced in monitoring pets while they are being operated on.
Good luck- hope you get sorted![/QUOTE]

Yep just the one drug I've had experience of and that one brings the dog back into heat, prehaps there is a second I'm not aware of.

andreac

Id deffo recommend her getting spayed too. The more seasons she has the more chance she has of getting pyometra which can be a killer and a big health risk in female dogs in later life. Maybe book her in for her spay once you go in for the injection.

It really isnt fair on her to have the risk of her getting pregnant each time and if she escaped once she could do it again. A bitch in heat will go looking for a dog to mate with and thats probably what happened.
Also males dogs will come from miles around to get at a bitch in heat so a dog could get in to your garden without knowing during the day if you arent there.